One of the many interesting stories that has gotten lost in the shuffle over the controversy over the horrible Trump-Biden debate and the president’s recent Covid-19 diagnosis is the recent allegation by The Federalist‘s Sean Davis that CIA director Gina Haspel has been personally blocking the declassification of incriminating documents pertaining to the origins of the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theory known as Russiagate.

Davis’ claim may be true or false, but it’s worth earmarking for later reference given that we already know that longtime CIA insider Haspel has been actively persuading the US president to roll out cold war escalations against Russia, and given that we know the only real changes of consequence that have come about as a result of Russiagate are changes which advanced the longstanding agendas of the same intelligence agencies who started it.

The mainstream Democratic partisan narrative has been that investigations into possible collusion between the Trump camp and Moscow were designed to ascertain whether the US government had been co-opted at its highest levels by a hostile foreign power, with countless human clickbait pundits claiming earlier in Trump’s term that these investigations would result in Trump being dragged out of the White House in chains. The mainstream Republican partisan narrative has been that the president was the target of a soft coup attempt by the deep state using false allegations of Russian collusion in an attempt to remove him from office for standing up to the deep state.

Like most partisan narratives, these are both false.

It is correct that the conspiratorial allegations of Vladimir Putin secretly controlling the executive branch of the US government were bogus. It is also correct that Russiagate was a psyop advanced by forces in the US intelligence cartel who are sometimes collectively referred to as a part of the “deep state”, though that term has become largely meaningless in recent years due to Trumpists twisting its meaning into “Democrats and anyone who doesn’t like Trump”. But both Republicans and Democrats are mistaken in believing that Russiagate had anything to do with removing Trump from office.

Russiagate was never a deep state operation targeting Trump; Russiagate has always been a deep state operation targeting Russia. You may be sure this is true because while Russiagate has not had any significant negative effect on Trump, it has greased the wheels for the escalation of many new cold war aggressions against Russia.

Anyone who was informed and unbiased knew that the Mueller investigation would never touch Trump (even as a newbie at the time I correctly called it back in 2017), and anyone who was capable of counting Senate seats knew impeachment would result in acquittal. As far as Trump’s presidential career is concerned all Russiagate ever accomplished was galvanizing his Republican base around the completely false notion that he is fighting the establishment.

But what has Russiagate accomplished in relation to Russia? The political pressure it placed on Trump to act tough on Moscow and the Democratic Party’s baseless insistence that this administration is controlled by Putin have ensured that there is nothing but acceleration for a world-threatening new cold war which has seen nuclear treaties abandoned, a much more aggressive nuclear posture against Russia, weapons sent to Ukraine, many sanctions on Russia, airstrikes on Russia’s ally Syria, sanctions on Russia’s ally Venezuela, the Iran deal shredded against urging from Moscow, NATO expansionism and increased military activity at Russia’s borders.

These aggressions were all planned years in advance. Obama initiated them, the frighteningly anti-Russia hawk Hillary Clinton was scheduled to continue and expand them, and then when that fell through the Russiagate contingency was rolled out to ensure the US intelligence cartel would get its long-sought campaign to shove Russia off the world stage and thereby hamstring its ally China.

A dodgy intelligence assessment on 2016 Russian election meddling by a few operatives who were hand-selected by notorious Russophobe and known perjurer James Clapper combined with a steady stream of bogus “leaks” like the notoriously false Steele dossier to form the foundation of Russiagate, and it all came from the same spy agencies whose agendas benefitted from Russiagate.

The question “Who benefits from this?” is essential for understanding the world, and if you ask it of Russiagate there is one power structure which stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Yes, the mass media got a major ratings bump from Russiagate, which is why they played along with it. Yes, the Democratic Party got to neuter the progressive movement and distract from its 2016 scandals, which is why they played along with it. But in terms of actual changes that were implemented as a direct result of Russiagate, the ones who gained the most were the US intelligence collective whose pre-existing agendas were advanced by it.

Not only were pre-existing agendas against Russia facilitated by Russiagate, but pre-existing agendas against the American left were facilitated as well. The burgeoning swell of progressive populism galvanized by the 2016 Sanders campaign would have made a lot of warmongers nervous, and the opaque government agencies which consistently ally themselves with status quo-loyal plutocrats have a vested interest in protecting the class with which they are allied. The fact that all oxygen was sucked from the progressive movement into baseless Russia conspiracy theories served the same intelligence cartel which initiated Russiagate.

In January of last year a former Assistant Director for the FBI (the same FBI which wordlessly allowed the bogus Steele dossier to circulate despite knowing its intelligence had been compromised) admitted that his work with the FBI had included actively sabotaging leftist politicians in the United States to keep them out of government. This officer’s entire FBI career took place after J Edgar Hoover’s death and after COINTELPRO had officially been ended.

So that’s two longstanding agendas of US spy agencies that were advanced by Russiagate, a psychological operation which was launched by those same agencies.

And that’s all you really need to know about Russiagate: that it was started by the same spy agencies which directly benefited from it. Unless you were born yesterday, this will tell you that we’ve been conned.

And now we’re being told that the CIA director is forcefully obstructing transparency into the creation of that operation, even as the same Office of the Director of National Intelligence that James Clapper headed is promoting the narrative that Iran and China are seeking to influence the US election for Biden while Russia is seeking to influence it for Trump.

This narrative that we are being primed for will enable these same spy agencies to sell the story that at least one of the governments they have targeted for sabotage can be accused of election interference regardless of who wins.

And the most depressing thing about it is that they already know they’ll be able to sell it successfully, because nobody has learned anything over the last four years despite the transparent scam of Russiagate. Democrats will happily keep pushing Russia conspiracy theories if Trump wins, and Republicans will cheerfully push conspiracy theories about China and/or Iran after a Biden win. There’s no reason to change strategies if it’s been immensely successful. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Watch them.

__________________________

Thanks for reading! The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at  or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is , so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on , following my antics on throwing some money into my tip jar on  or , purchasing some of my , buying my books  and . For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, . Everyone, racist platforms excluded,  to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge.

Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

Liked it? Take a second to support Caitlin Johnstone on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!

52 responses to “All Russiagate Did Was Advance Pre-Existing Agendas Of The Same Spy Agencies Who Started It”

  1. “Democrats will happily keep pushing Russia conspiracy theories if Trump wins, and Republicans will cheerfully push conspiracy theories about China and/or Iran after a Biden win. There’s no reason to change strategies if it’s been immensely successful. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

    Thank you for this and for providing a wider and insightful perspective.

  2. The Rooskies began selling THEIR oil for Rubles on 6/6/14. Sadam selling for EU, Qadafi selling for Dinars, VZ selling for Bolivars, Iran selling for Rials. Hey! Is this a pattern?

  3. The Rooskies began selling THEIR oil for rubles on 6/6/14.

  4. BAD NEWS FOR VACCINE SUPPORTERS!

    The real meaning behind “Operation Warp Speed”
    “With more people waking up to the risks and dangers of the vaccines which have come under scrutiny since the start of the pandemic, what is the likelihood of successfully rolling out a “safe and effective” COVID-19 vaccine in record time?

    https://vaxxter.com/the-real-meaning-behind-operation-warp-speed/

    1. Answer: NONE!

  5. Is Russia Preparing for ‘First Strike’ from ‘Best Friend Trump’?
    https://journal-neo.org/2020/09/18/is-russia-preparing-for-first-strike-from-best-friend-trump/

    “There is no need for any outside agency to try to influence America’s election process, because it is already a shambles. All that the world needs to do is sit back and shake its collective head at the monstrous slapstick and then try to live with what results. The claims that Russia is officially involved in “fixing” the process are bogus and made without evidence..”
    https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/09/22/the-propaganda-campaign-against-russia-is-gathering-momentum/

    “Any Inbound Missile Will Be Seen As Nuclear” – Russia’s Military Warns Amid Arms Treaty Talks”
    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/any-inbound-missile-will-be-seen-nuclear-russias-military-warns-amid-arms-treaty-talks

    1. Did I forget to say my support goes to Russia?

  6. Roundball Shaman Avatar
    Roundball Shaman

    “This narrative that we are being primed for will enable these same spy agencies to sell the story that at least one of the governments they have targeted for sabotage can be accused of election interference regardless of who wins… There’s no reason to change strategies if it’s been immensely successful. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
    .
    Lies thrive in an environment where no one has any interest in the truth. That’s why lies are growing and choking the planet right now like weeds out of control because so few people care about what truly goes on instead of believing in their chosen fairy tales.
    .
    Tell me a story, Daddy… And so the World sits patiently next to the box in their hands or the Big Box with the big screen tuned to their favorite Daddy or Mommy so they can hear the next bedtime story geared to appeal to their childlike minds written by devious manipulators who are paid to concoct nightly pablum and contrived Heroes and Villains acting out in ways to further hidden agendas.
    .
    It’s all quite neat and successful. Everyone gets what they want. Everyone goes to sleep happy. All, that is, except those for whom truth still matters.

    1. I don’t know roundball. I’m thinking we are entering a time of “Alice in Wonderland” or the “Wizard of Oz” if you prefer. Lets hope saner minds prevail, but I’m not sure. I’d bet against it if I was pushed up against the wall…….of course the truth matters, but ………..it only matters if somebody is alive to think it. To think it matters.
      .
      But you know I suspect and I do as well, that it does matter, so if the truth goes by the wayside, then so does everything else, which leads to a tsunami of justice and time for a new time…..for the survivors.
      .
      ?
      **^**
      <"
      Yep – could truly get that bad…

      1. Hopefully there will be survivors; most likely that will be the case, and could be it is truly most of us. Consider what homo sapien had to do during the last ice age to survive. Leads to some crazy ideas and foolish thinking if you want my opinion.
        .
        If you want my opinion, it is out there for free. I’ve got nothing to hide because I love the truth and I seek it out with relish and abandon. If it ain’t gonna be the truth in your own life, then why the hell are you alive?
        .
        Learn or Die and
        .
        Nothing is Everything and vice versa and…..calculus is flawed at the edges as is just about everything else.
        .
        Peace is easy and 2020 is the year of peace.
        Ken

  7. Michel Bélisle Avatar
    Michel Bélisle

    I remember having read an article a few years ago about the late great anti-war activist Father Daniel Berrigan.

    He told the journalist that he has not been casting his vote for years.

    He understood what it is all about.

    As you say Caitlin in your last article, it is a big club and we are not part of it.

    Because we are living the return of the days of Noah just before the Second Coming of Jesus, the decadence is everywhere, which means that almost everybody is of bad faith. People of good faith are very few and they are fewer among the ruling class because the more you climb the socio-economic ladder, the more decadent.

    Keeping my Rosary on hand!

  8. “The question “Who benefits from this?” is essential for understanding the world, and if you ask it of Russiagate there is one power structure which stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Yes, the mass media got a major ratings bump from Russiagate, which is why they played along with it.”
    `
    I think Russiagate was about influencing groups of people to turn against each other. I think it was about division, distraction and confusion and I don’t think the media went along with it for ratings. I don’t see where they don’t have any real competition. I believe they’re all, mostly, owned/controlled by the same people.
    `
    We always hear that ninety percent of the media is owned by six corporations. That really doesn’t tell the whole story, it’s much worse than that.
    `
    The media, and almost everything else, are owned by institutional investment firms like BlackRock, Vanguard Asset Management, State Street Global Advisors, BNY Mellon Investment Management, EMEA Limited, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, PIMCO . . ..
    `
    Again, to me, the relevant questions are who controls these institutional investment companies? Who controls the intelligence agencies? Who controls the global crime syndicate?
    `
    Cui Bono? The robber barons.

    1. They have created, basically, two opposing narratives in “news” media. It is amazing how almost every single important issue gets divided between the two sides.
      `
      It looks like it is no longer six companies that own ninety percent of all media. More like one or two?
      `
      It’s hard to keep up with who owns what, but it looks like as of 2018 ATT owns, Time Warner, Disney and Comcast, which I believe were the largest of the six?
      `
      It looks like they own, CNN, NBC, ABC, Fox, Murdoch’s conservative, UK Sky news . . .. Who controls the Narrative?
      `
      Didn’t they break up Ma Bell back in the seventies? Ha.

      Of course, ATT is owned by the same institutional investors that own almost everything.

      Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have been conned.

    2. The media is arguing with itself and competing against itself in order to influence people. They want us divided, blaming and hating each other so we don’t look at those most responsible.

  9. I agree with almost all of Caitlin’s points, but…
    I do not agree that the purpose of Russiagate was to demonize Russia. Remember that the voters that elected Trump in 2016 and will probably again in 2020 are not buying the Russia-bad story. There are many independents and even a few lefties skeptical of the Russia story. It is just too lame and fact free to be believed by anybody who is thinking clearly. So this has (by design) failed to convince the majority of Americans.
    ~
    The people who buy the Russia Bad story are the people who hate Trump so badly they can’t see straight (that is by design). Of course McCarthyism was not about Russia either. It was about selling the American Dream narrative. Journalists and politicians and media people (print, film,TV, Radio etc) all were required to follow the American Dream narrative or you were a Russia sympathizer and thrown out. In the 50’s you were either with us or against us.

    The main purpose of Russiagate was to sell the Donald Trump as the Kayfabe hero fighting against the Kayfabe villain (the deep state). And like all Kayfabe fights the winner is predetermined but to build suspense it has to look like the Kayfabe hero is fighting against insurmountable odds and has little chance of surviving.

    The fight is rigged but right up to the moment of victory the fans are continually led to believe that the hero can’t possibly win. When they tell you that Trump is toast over and over and over – well you just know that has to be Kayfabe
    |

    1. Does the article say the purpose of ‘Russiagate’ had much to do with Trump voters? It does say, “the Russiagate contingency was rolled out to ensure the US intelligence cartel would get its long-sought campaign to shove Russia off the world stage and thereby hamstring its ally China.”
      It may be ‘just too lame and fact free to be believed by anybody who is thinking clearly.’ I seriously doubt most USians are capable of thinking clearly about world events. For many, their world is divided in two – the USA, and other s’hole countries, leaving them incapable of coherent thought about world politics.. But Caitlin seems to be saying that’s neither here nor there. The purpose was to advance certain agendas, to ensure “that there is nothing but acceleration for a world-threatening new cold war which has seen nuclear treaties abandoned, a much more aggressive nuclear posture against Russia, weapons sent to Ukraine, many sanctions on Russia, airstrikes on Russia’s ally Syria, sanctions on Russia’s ally Venezuela, the Iran deal shredded against urging from Moscow, NATO expansionism and increased military activity at Russia’s borders.” Not much about US or American voters there.

      1. Does the article say the purpose of ‘Russiagate’ had much to do with Trump voters?
        ___________________________________
        No it does not say much about Trump voters and that was my criticism. Trump supporters are a very sizeable portion of the population and they have always been led to believe that the Russiagate thing is all fake news. There may be as many or more people in the US that believe Russiagate is phony than there are that believe it is real. And that is not an accident. That is by design and that is one of the things that will help trump get reelected which is also not an accident.

    2. Nice analysis of a point Caitlin may have missed or misinterpreted in an otherwise on-the-money article. This is the kind of insightful commentary that improves an already excellent blog, and we need much more of such commentary here.

    3. Imperial antagonism toward Russia on the part of the Anglosphere goes back to at least the late 19th century. There was a theory popular among the British ruling-class types that whoever controlled the center of the Eurasian landmass could eventually control the world. This was thought to be a problem for insular powers like Great Britain, the United States, and Japan which was to be solved by keeping the area broken up and at least partly under colonial rule. The Russians had grabbed Siberia so even though they were behind in so many ways it was thought they had gotten ahead in what was often called ‘the Great Game’. When the US took over from burned-out Britain after World War 2,they inherited not only the oil and the Germans but the Great Game. So it was quite natural, when H. R. Clinton muffed the 2016 election, to blame the event not on any Democrats but on the Russians. This kind of theater tends to perpetuate itself because a lot of dumb or dishonest people sign on to it in order to get ahead with their masters. I don’t think we should discount the possibility that the Trump – Deep State factional contest doesn’t have some basis in a real struggle just because Russia has been mentioned. Russia is the great and eternal boogey-man and would be called in regularly, whenever necessary.

  10. You got food?
    You got shelter?
    You got health?
    You got a Lover?
    That’s all we need.
    Everything else is mind fodder.

    1. There’s an important shift in your comment from you (me) to we. I trust you would agree that doing all we can to help others make that inclusive shift in focus is not “mind fodder” but rather responsible and necessary action to attempt to bring about a world where all of us have the essentials you list.

  11. Caitlin, as I was reading your article it struck me how similar this is to McCarthyism in the 1950s. The true purpose of both was to instill fear of Russia into the populace. I think your assessment is correct.

    1. The McCarthyism shamefully practiced by Democrats recently is partly driven by the weakness of the Russiagate theory, and is an effort to prevent thought and discussion about it which would reveal that weakness. In fact, it is one of the evidences that Russiagate is false. The McCarthyism of the 1950s was not only about the geopolitical contests to control the world, hence to defeat Russia, but also about such changes to the American scene as the oncoming Civil Rights and feminist movements — about modernity, generally speaking. Which I suppose is one of the reasons it was more virulent.

  12. The bank cartel and the oligarchs hate Putin because he interrupted their looting of Russia after the collapse of the USSR. They mean to dispose of him so they can get back to it. The Military Industrial Complex hates him for being so damned peaceful, interfering with their looting of the general population of the US.

    1. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
      Julius Skoolafish

      … and let me recommend:

      “The Russian Populist: The Political Thought of Vladimir Putin” by Matthew Raphael Johnson

  13. 5,032,786
    Cases which had an outcome:
    4,818,509 (96%)
    Recovered / Discharged

    214,277 (4%)
    Deaths
    total population 320,000,000

    you decide: this is current Worldometer info.

  14. Follow the money folks, always follow the money. Obviously there are lots of political favors being peddled, some great shakedowns and/kickback schemes in play, or most likely all of the above. Are we to imagine these foreign entities writing a steady stream of multi-million dollar checks to U.S. political figures are part of the same oligarchy controlled globalist deep state cabal seeking to reinforce and expand an increasingly warming Cold War? It would seem those receiving such largesse in cash directly from the Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, etc. are the very same political figures in which the MSM also invests massive support regardless of obviousness to a ridiculous degree and increasingly diminished public respect. I realize politics makes for strange bedfellows but it seems the public world-wide has become the guest of honor in a cosmic gang bang sans any lubricant.

    1. I’m all for following the money as you suggest and agree about where it leads. But I’m even more interested in first envisioning then starting to build a world where money is merely a necessity (in the sense of having enough to live a viable life) and not a–or rather THE–priority. Much work yet to be done here. “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.”

      1. It ought to be possible to reconstitute money as a symbol or marker of labor, issued by ordinary citizens according to their productive capacities or possessions, and backed up by a network of credit unions of which the individual would be a member. Such a system is not infallible, but it would be harder to game than the present one and would be out of the control of central banks and other malefactors.

        1. Just imagine–the evolution/revolution occurs and a new script or currency is issued in egalitarian fashion to pay for all goods and services. In a puff of smoke, whether or not inhaled, billionaires are irrelevant, indeed nonexistent. And, most surprisingly of all, life goes on and a new chapter opens in the story of humanity.

  15. Come December everything gets thrown out and the ” new order ” will take command. No constitution, no congress, no courts of law. Big Sister will run everything; Big Sister will run everybody; Big Sister will be god! Down on your knees, peon; kiss the feet of your new master and always obey!

    1. I doubt it – people can only be pushed so far – as can other nations !

      ‘Populist’ leaders will come to the fore – the people have no desire for war !

      1. Nor do even the most vile, violent, and greedy plutocrats now running the show have any desire for a nuclear exchange with Russia and/or China. So if that’s not in the cards (unless we misjudge or stumble into it), what the hell IS the deep state agenda to which Caitlin points? Do they really expect Russia or China to fold their hands and concede the pot? I don’t think they’re that stupid either, so I remain mystified as to the end game.

        1. “unless we misjudge or stumble into it”
          We’ve almost done so already, several times. Luxury underground bunkers are more than just a fashion statement. They reflect the fears of their plutocrat owners.

        2. “I remain mystified as to the end game.”
          Is there an endgame? They mostly support the status quo, albeit with tinkering and developments. But they’ve no interest in revolution, apart from the myriad revolutions in toothpaste flavours that form the status quo.
          Perhaps the aim is successfully continuing the game and not allowing it to end?

  16. Charles Andrew Robinson Avatar
    Charles Andrew Robinson

    German class action suit against the Cov-10 pandemic and lockdown fraud.

    1. Charles Andrew Robinson Avatar
      Charles Andrew Robinson

      Covid-19 that is.

    2. Carolyn L Zaremba Avatar
      Carolyn L Zaremba

      How dare you use an image of Nickola Tesla as your avatar. You disgrace his name.

      1. Yes, it’s disgusting. The ‘coronavirus scandal’ is ‘the greatest crime against humanity ever committed.’ Fraud and manipulation, even if true, outweigh the Holocaust, the slave trade and slavery, the invasion of Iraq, the Herero and Nama genocide and the massacres in the Congo? That’s the first two minutes, and I don’t want to hear any more.

  17. An interesting read; they say that in Paris dogs poop on the side walks, in the US politicians poop on our dinner plates. A nice read, but in the end it’s all about low life garbage people running this country.

  18. Spot on the money Caitlin!

  19. This article REALLY nailed it.

  20. I’d only add that if the Democrats win, they’ll happily demonise China too. It somehow proves they’re just as patriotically MAGA as Trump.

  21. I should have posted this here.

    Dont’ you think?

    Oh the irony!

    Watched a PBS program tonight. The series is called “Hacking Your Mind”, the program I watched tonight was titled “Us vs Them”. The program demonstrated the natural tendency of human beings to divide into groups – Us vs Them, and how this human tendency presents a danger to our nation as we fall prey to media influences that make us divide one American group against another American group (Us vs Trump supporters, for example). Us vs Them – divided.

    Irony is seen in the program as it sounds the alarm about THEM – the Russians.

    Them
    THem
    THEM!

    Here is the PBS video. The segment of interest begins at the 21 minutes mark.
    https://www.pbs.org/video/us-vs-them-2t0c0s/

    The segment in question discusses an anti-muslim video that had been shared on the internet since 2014.
    2014.
    Apparently, a Russian guy also shared this video on Facebook in 2016 and thus provided convenient fodder for Russiagate and this PBS program.

    I found the segment beginning at 21 minutes very spooky and troubling and I fear for our nation that PBS is pushing hate. Pay attention to the distressing sound effects that accompany this segment.

    1. It is impossible to miss one’s daily dose of deep state propaganda if one lives in America. You can get it on Fox News accompanied by misogynistic and racist banter and short skirts, or you can get it at PBS and NPR accompanied by tasteful jazz and classical music interludes and pretentious blather. One this is for sure. You will get Orwell’s “Two minutes (of) Hate,” as that’s a requirement.

      What makes the system so pernicious is that by late evening, the latest propaganda narrative from earlier that same day will also have now been incorporated into the “jokes” of the oh so hip and liberal late night comedians, further cementing the brain death of the American public. To really “get” the joke, you have to have ingested the propaganda narrative appropriately.

      The system is seamless – it creates a cognitive vacuum from which no light – no “truth” – can possibly escape into public consciousness where it might cloud the minds and create cognitive dissonance among the populace. Our – State of the Art propaganda apparatus – has created a post-reality society.

      1. It is impossible to miss one’s daily dose of deep state propaganda if one lives in America.
        ___________________________________
        It is impossible to miss the daily doses of the propaganda that is in opposition to the so-called liberal media.

        ~
        There is no longer one MSM. There are two opposing MSM. One that is presented as left leaning and the other that is presented as right leaning. Both are spewing propaganda. It is amazing how the false narratives that both preach are so tightly controlled. There is very little deviation from the purported truth that both sides are claiming to present.

        ~
        What is becoming apparent is that the level of mind control by dueling narratives is far more effective than it ever was using the single narrative method.

        1. Yes, I think there are effectively two MSM conglomerations. I suspect the likes of the Integrity Initiative and the 77th Brigade see things similarly. Realising and admitting, to themselves, that not everyone will swallow the official narratives, they do their best to steer sceptical minds into futile dead-end alternatives.

      2. Most accurate and helpful observations, Gary. Yet reality does have a way of eventually inserting itself and having the last word, does it not? Seems like quite a shit show is in store for the exceptional nation…and we need to experience it if we are ever to wake up from the neoliberal nightmare all around us, on our screens, and in our minds and hearts.

  22. Aww, c’mon, Sister. It had to be both, didn’t it?…
    “Russiagate was never a deep state operation targeting Trump; Russiagate has always been a deep state operation targeting Russia. You may be sure this is true because while Russiagate has not had any significant negative effect on Trump, it has greased the wheels for the escalation of many new cold war aggressions against Russia.”

    1. I think the true thrust was Russia but the convenience factor against Trump was icing on the cake. Killing two birds with one stone.

    2. Anyone with a lick of sense realizes that it was both. I will add that a third was also the target. The third, in fact, had primacy over the other two. The third was weapons sales.

      If Trump had campaigned in 2016 with signals of “more war” then there would have been less heat on him. But, instead, he threatened to bring better relations with Russia and to wind down our foolish and wasteful endless-wars.

      Putin (Russia) is just the next convenient boogeyman in a line of boogeymen. All useful for sales of weapons.

      Trump was a threat to weapons sales. Over time the pressure from the MIC served it’s purpose and Trump has increased military spending and been compliant to imperialism.
      How will Trump behave in his second term when the need to game for reelection is no longer a constraint? The MIC has reason to be worried.

Trending